Seminal 90s trip-hop act Massive Attack will make their return to Ireland with two sets at the Olympia Theatre.

The legendary trio will be joined by Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers as support in what is shaping up to be one of the first great gigs of 2016.

Massive Attack’s last appearance on Irish soil was at Longitude in 2014, when they stunned the crowd with epic visuals, a political rhetoric and buckets of soul.

The ‘Teardrop’ hitmakers are beloved on this little island, and such was the demand for tickets for their original Tuesday show, a second date was quickly added.

Massive Attack have always pushed musical boundaries, evident enough in their creation and transcendence of the trip-hop genre.

But throughout their 30-year career they have remained enigmas. Forthcoming enough to maintain a presence, while never saying too much at all about their work.

They continued in that vein last year when confirming the current tour. The band announced that there would be new music to follow, their first release since Heligoland in 2010.

But that was it. A short press release confirming the band will be “releasing new music later this year” is the entirety of what is known about the band’s new album. If indeed, an album is what they plan to release.

It’s to be expected of course, with Daddy G, Adrian ‘Tricky’ Thaws and Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja perpetually involved in various side-projects.

Most recently, 3D produced a film about the influence of fossil fuel corporations on climate change negotiations, which premiered during the Paris climate change talks.

It makes sense then, that the group would remain quiet about any potential release, rather than shoot themselves in the foot if it were to be delayed.

But the good news for Irish fans is that there’s a strong possibility that the Olympia Theatre will be one of the first places that the new material is performed anywhere in the world.

More good news is that the excellent Young Fathers will perform support on both nights. The Edinburgh trio blew the roof off a Forbidden Fruit tent some years back, and will be back with a lot more in their arsenal.

Last time they played here was on the back of their Mercury winning album Dead.

They’ve since released the arguably superior White Men Are Black Men Too, which is packed with anthemic numbers full of political punch.

Put simply, these aren’t the kind of support act to be nipping off to the bar during.

Massive Attack play the Olympia Theatre on Tuesday, January 19 and Wednesday, January 20, tickets priced €50.65.